Some of the big girls, overhearing this confidence, put their aprons up to their faces to hide their laughter. The teachers never knew that there were lovers among the pupils and that little romances were going on right under their eyes.
Gray-beard could not see us to bed that night, so the superintendent took his place.
"Good-night, boys, keep quiet and go to sleep," he said as he went downstairs after he had heard us say our prayer.
"Warren, you've earned ten cents to-day," said Brush; "I think Lester earned something too. I don't know how much it's going to be, but I'll go and see the superintendent about it to-morrow."
"Say, Brush, I think that bee that stung Lester was a drone; that's why his face is all swelled up," I said.
"Oh! go 'long!" he answered. "Whoever heard of a drone having a sting. They have no sting, and they can't sting. It's only the working bees that have a sting."
"But those drones are big fellows, two times as big as the working bees. The superintendent showed me one when he was moving a swarm to a new box in the bee house."
"They haven't any sting, though. There are three kinds of bees: there's the queen, then there's the drone, and there's the working bees. When the drones get too many, and eat too much, the working bees, they get mad and they sting them to death."
"I think that work bee thought Lester was drone," remarked Edwin.
"Wait till I get well," threatened Lester; "I'll show you drone!"